Air conditioning, cooling, and heating apparatus



Dec. 3, 1940- G. R. SMITH EIAL 2.223329 AIR CONDITIONING, COOLING, AND HEATING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 9, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet '1 INVENTOR S:

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. 3, 194v. G. R. SMITH ETAL AIR, CONDITIONING, COOLING, AND HEATING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 9, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 lllllll-l'llllllll wll'l'ljllfil g INligQ/TQRS;

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Dec. 3, 1940.

s. R. SMITH ETAL I 2,223,429

AIR CONDITIONING, COOLING, AND HEATING APPARATUS I Filed Nov. 9, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 elf/L,

IN VEN TORS. 05m

ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 3, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AIR CONDITIONING,

COOLING, AND HEAT- Application November 9. 1938, Serial No. 239,692

This invention relates to air conditioning machines, and the general object of the invention is to provide an improved air conditioning machine by means of which air is washed clean of impurities and cooled or heated while moist and then discharged in a slightly moist and fresh condition, for use in homes, omce buildings, stores, factories, fruit storage plants and elsewhere.

Another object is to providean air conditioning machine in which water is circulated continuously, for cooling and washing air, by evaporation of the water in the machine, and as the water in the machine is evaporated, fresh water equal in quantity to the quantity evaporated, is automatically supplied to the machine, thus eifecting great economy in the use of water, while maintaining at all times a constant and adequate supply of water to the machine for cooling and washing the air.

A further object is to provide an improved air conditioner for moistening or humidifying and heating the air. and discharging the heated air in a slightly moist condition.

A still further object is to provide an improved air heater and humidifier.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

The invention is illustrated in the annexed drawings which form a part of this specification and in which.

Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical section of our invention taken on line I-I of Hg. 2.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of our invention with the canvas covering partly broken away to show the upper water reservoir.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of our invention with the canvas covering shown in section.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of the machine taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of a second embodiment of our improved air heater and humidifier.

Fig. 6 is a cross section of Fig. 5 taken on line 0-4 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 'l is a cross section of Fig. 5 taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is across section of Fig. 5 taken on line 0-0 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is a cross section of Fig. 5 taken on line .I-I of Fig. 5.

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of a modification of our air conditioner and cooler.

Referring more particularly to the drawings. in which corresponding parts are designated by the same reference characters in all of the figures, I

designates a sheet-metal housing comprising a bottom wall 2, side walls I, front wall 4. rear wall I and top wall I, the bottom wall and lower portion of the side, front and rear walls forming a lower reservoir I for water which is circulated 5 through the machine in the manner hereinafter described. The side walls I are provided with a plurality of superimposed air inlets I which are preierably rectangular and arranged in two vertical rows as shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings. 10 Said air inlets are covered with fine mesh wire screens I which are secured to the inside of the side walls I, said screens serving to prevent bugs or foreign substances from entering the housing I through said air inlets I.

Within the housing I are a pair of filters II which are mounted at their lower ends upon mountings II secured to the bottom wall I of said housing, said filters being spaced a short distance from the side walls respectively of the a housing I, forming air spaces I2 between said filters and said side walls. Said filters are in the form of elongated vertical box-shaped containers, rectangular in horizontal section, with sides preferably of heavy /4 inch mesh hardware cloth 55 II, which containers are filled with filtering material ll, such as charcoal, and are arranged with their outer wider sides parallel to and spaced inwardly from the side walls I of the housing I to provide the air circulating spaces II. On the go top or the filters III is supported a ton reservoir II, in the form of a pan, which is formed with a pair oi ribs I! pressed upwardly from the bottom of the reservoir, which ribs extend directly over the tops of the filters II respectively and u are each provided with a series of small perforations II spaced longitudinallyoi the ribs. through which perforations water passes from the reservoir it into the upper ends of the filters II, and filters downwardly in said filters through the 0 charcoal II therein into the lower reservoir I in the bottom of the housing I. The curved surface of the ribs ll throws off any dirt therefrom and thereby prevents clogging of the perforations II in said ribs with dirt. Vertical overflow pipes II extend upwardly from the bottom of the reservoir II to a level slightly below the upper edge of the reservoir. while the lower ends of said overflow pipes extend downward y through the bottom of the reservoir directly over the tops of so the filters II, so that when the water in said res- I ervoir rises over the upper ends of said overfiow pipes it will fiow downwardly through said pipes into said filters and prevent the water from overfiowing the upper edge of. the reservoir. The as upper edge of the top reservoir I5 rests a short distance beiowthe top wall 5 of the housing I, forming an air circulating space I! between said reservoir and said top wall, which space communicates with the upper ends of the air spaces I2 between the side walls 3 and the filters I0.

Mounted on a table 20, supported by its legs resting upon and secured to the bottom wall 2 of the housing I, is an electric motor 2I, a water pump 22 and an air fan 23, which have a common drive shaft 24 whereby the rotor of said pump and said fan are rotated in unison with the armature of said motor. A water inlet pipe 25 leads from the bottom of the lower reservoir 1 into the pump 22 and an outlet pipe 25 leads from said pump upwardly through the bottom of the upper reservoir I5 into said reservoir, whereby water is pumped by the pump 22 from said lower reservoir into said upper reservoir. An inlet water pipe 21 leads into the lower reservoir 1, which is controlled by a float valve 23 in said reservoir, whereby water is automatically admitted into said reservoir. as the normal level of the water therein recedes, due to evaporation of the water in'cooling and washing the air taken into the machine, so that a quantity of water is always admitted into said reservoir equal to the quantity of water evaporated, thus maintaining a predetermined amount of water in the machine at all times during. its operation.

The rear wall 5 of the housing I is provided with an air outlet 28 in which is positioned the fan 23 for forcibly discharging the cooled and washed air from the machine through said outlet, there being an air duct 30 for conveying said conditioned air from said outlet to the interior of a home, fruit storage plant or other place of use. A door 3| is hinged to the front wall 4 of the housing I to provide access to the inside of the machine.

For outside installation a canvas awning 32 is placed over the housing I to shade the machine from the sun and prevent heating of the machine by the sun, said awning being formed with a central top member 33, which is positioned directly over the top of the housing, and with side members 34, front member 35, rear member 35 and corner members 31 and 33, extending downwardly at an angle from said top member, said corner members 31 being fitted in the corners between said front member 35 and said side members 34 respectively and detachably secured to the adjoining edges of said front member and side members by snap buttons 39 and 39', and

said corner members 38 being fitted in the corners between said rear member 38 and said side members 34 respectively and detachably secured to the adjoining edges of said rear member and said side members by snap buttons 40 and H there being poles 42 resting at their lower ends upon the ground and connected at their upper ends to the outer corners of said corners members for supporting the outer edges of the awning in position. The central top member 33 is supported a short distance above the top wall 5 of the housing by corner posts 43 to provide a heat insulation air circulating space 44 above said top wall, said posts resting at their lower ends upon said top wall 6 at the corners thereof and connected at their upper ends to said top central member 33 of the awning at the corners of said top member. divided into two triangular sections 45 and 46, and 41 and 48 respectively, the meeting edges of which sections extend from the inner corners to The corner members 31 and 38 are the outer corners of said corner members respectively, and the meeting edges of the sections of said corner members are detachably secured together by snap buttons 49 and 50 respectively.

The canvas awning 32 is treated with aluminum 5 paint through which the suns rays will not penetrate and which deflects the heat of the sun and heat waves therefrom, thus maintaining the space under the awning cool under the hottest sun.

An electric air heater 5| is mounted in the upper part of the housing I immediately'under the reservoir I5, extending through said housing from the front to the rear thereof. The heater 5I includes primarily an outer cylindrical tube 52, formed with a sump 53 in the bottom thereof; an inner tube 54 within said outer tube extending from a point inwardly from the front end of said outer tube through the rear end of said outer tube; a pair of fin Calrods 55 mounted in said inner tube; a plurality of metal vaporizing links 55 suspended from said Calrods through an opening 51 in the bottom of said inner tube 54 into said sump 53; a float-controlled inlet valve 55 in said sump connected to a water-supply pipe 59; a Venturi tube 60 slidably mounted in the front end portion of the outer tube 52 and extending into the front end of the inner tube 54; an electric air fan 5| mounted in said Venturi tube; spiral vanes 52 formed in the rear end of said Venturi tube 50 for whirling the air from said fan 5| around said Calrods 55; and a slidable inlet cap valve 63 mounted in the front end of the outer tube 52. The front end of the outer tube 52 is.secured to the front wall 4 of the housing I by brackets 64, with the front end of said tube positioned a short distance inwardly from said front wall, providing an annular air inlet 65 leading from the interior of the housing I into said front end of said tube. The rear end of the outer tube 52 extends through and is secured at 66 to the rear'wall 5 of the housing I. The inner tube 54 extends concentrically within the outer tube 52, providing an annular air circulating space 51 between said tubes, and said inner tube is secured in position in said outer tube by means of brackets 58 which connect the front end of said inner tube to said outer tube. The Calrods 55 are preferably of the conventional type with spaced fins and are disposed at an angle in the inner tube 54 with their front ends secured to but insulated from the lower part of the tube wall rearwardly of the rear end of the Venturi tube 60, and their rear ends secured to but insulated from the upper part of the tube wall, in which position of the Calrods a maximum heating surface of their fins is exposed to the invected air circulated'through the tube 54 by the fan GI. The vaporizing links 56 are hung on the front end portion of the Calrods 55 between the fins thereof, so that said links extend downwardly through the opening 51 in the lower part of the tube 54 into the water in the sump 53, the level of which water being controlled by the float valve 58 so that the vaporizing links 55 will at all times extend into said water. The Venturi tube 60 is of frusto-conical shape, converging rearwardly, so that the air inlet 53 between said Venturi tube and the front end of the inner tube 54 may be decreased in size until closed, by moving the Venturi tube 60 inwardly in said inner tube, and said inlet 53 increased in size by moving said Venturi tube outwardly with relation to said inner tube, whereby the admission of air into the frontend of the inner tube 54 is controlled and regulated.

Spring friction guides 15 are secured to the rear end of the Venturi tube 60 and engage the inner side of the outer tube 52 to hold said Venturi tube in any position to which it may be moved in said outer tube and the inner tube 54, for closing or varying the size of the air inlet 69 in the front end of said inner tube. The fan 6| is secured on the shaft 1| of an electric motor I2 mounted in a spider 13 secured in the front end of the Venturi tube 60. The bladesof the fan 6| have their rear edges bent in the form of flanges I4 which flanges accelerate the whirling of the air by the fan. The inlet cap valve 63 comprises a cylindrical wall 15 and a conical outer end wall 16, said cylindrical wall being provided with a series of annularly spaced inlet ports TI, and said cylindrical wall being slidably fitted in the outer end of the outer tube 52. On the apex of the conical end wall 16 is formed a knob 16 which may be grasped for moving the valve 63 inwardly or outwardly in the outer end of the outer tube 52.

The operation, uses and advantages of our air conditioner are as follows:

The awning 32 shields the machine from the sun and keeps the air cool under the awning, allowing the cool air to circulate around the housing I and over the top of the housing through the heat insulating air space 44, whereby the housing is kept cool in the hot sun, Water is supplied through the pipe 21 to the lower reservoir 1, and the motor switch (not shown) being closed, electric current is supplied to the motor 2|, and said motor operates the pump 22 and rotates the fan 23, whereupon water is pumped by said pump from said lower reservoir to the upper reservoir |5 through inlet pipe 25 and outlet pipe 26, while air is drawn into the housing I from the cool atmosphere under the awning 32 through the screened air inlets 6 in the side walls 3 of said housing.

The water pumped into the upper reservoir l5 passes therefrom through the outlets into the upper ends of the filters l3 and filters downwardly in said filters through the charcoal I4 therein, until it passes through the lower ends of said filters into the lower reservoir I, while the initially cooled air drawn from under the awning 32 into the housing I, through the screened inlets 3, passes first through the cool air spaces l2 then through the filters I6 where the air is further and materially cooled by the water and washed by the water in said filter, from which said air passes out, through the air outlet 29, where said air is forced by the fan 23 out through the air duct into the interior of a house, fruit storage plant or other place, where the air is to be reconditioned. The air discharged from the machine is not only cool, but is slightly moist, due to the washing thereof by the water in the filters I0, which moisture gives the air a freshness and health qualities which it would not otherwise have. As the water in the machine is evaporated by the air therein, the level of the water in the lower reservoir 1 recedes and lowers the float of the float valve 23, which opens said valve and allows a quantity of water to flow from the inlet pipe 21 into said reservoir equal to the quantity of water evaporated, at which time the float of the float valve 26 is raised by said additional water admitted into the reservoir, and said float valve is closed, shutting off the water in said inlet pipe.

In the operation of my invention it will be apparent that the same water is used continuously within the machine for cooling the air until it is evaporated and that as the water is evaporated it is automatically replenished by additional fresh water, thus utilizing a minimum amount of water and effecting a maximum economy in the use of water.

As the same water is continuously circulated in the machine for cooling the air, said water be comes cooler than it would otherwise, thus increasing the cooling efficiency of the machine.

When the machine is not in use the posts 43 of the awning 32 may be folded up against the under side of the top member 33 of the awning and said top member lowered upon the top wall 6 of the housing while the poles, 42, may be removed from the corner members 31 and 33, the snap buttons 49 disengaged and the sections and 46 folded under the side members 34 and front member 35 respectively, the snap buttons disengaged and the sections 41 and 49 folded under the side members 34 and rear member 36 respectively, the side members 34, with the corner sections 45 and 41 folded under them, folded downwardly against the side walls 3 of the housing the front member, with the corner sectionsv 46 folded under them, folded downwardly against the front wall 4 of the housing, and the rear member 36, with the corner sections 48 folded under them, folded downwardly against the rear wall 5 of the housing I.

For inside installation of the machine, the awning 32 may be eliminated.

The operation of my air heater is as follows:

The fan 6| being rotated by the motor I2, with the cap valve 63 in position with its inlet ports 11 in register with air inlet 65, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, conditioned air is drawn by said fan from the housing I through said air inlet and ports 'Il into the front end of the outer tube 52 and into the Venturi tube 60, where the air is given a whirling motion by the fan 6|, which whirling motion is accelerated by the fan blade flanges I4 and the vanes 62, with which the air comes into contact, and the whirling air is forced by said fan from said Venturi tube into the inner tube 54 around and over the Calrods 55, which heat the air and through links 56 heat the water in the sump 53 which moistens or humidifies the air, and the heated and humidified air is finally forced by the fan 6| out through the inner tube 54 into the room to be heated. The heated and humidified air, after circulating through and heating the room, may be returned to the heater and again circulated through the heater, and heated and moistened, and again delivered into the room for continuously heating the room, the air returning to the heater circulating through the annular space 61, in the outer tube 52 around the inner tube 54, and through the inlet 69 into and through the inner tube 54 back into the room, and the above described operations may be repeated, If the Venturi tube is moved inwardly until it engages the front end of the inner tube 54 and closes the inlet 69, the air returning from the room to the heater instead of passing from the annular space 61 through the inlet into the inner tube 54 will pass over the Venturi tube 60 and enter the front end of said tube and again be drawn by the fan 6| through said Venturi tube and forced by the fan through the inner tube 54, the air being again heated by the Calrods 55 and humidified by the vapor from the water in the sump 53. v

By moving the valve 63 out until its cylindrical wall 15 closes the inlet 66 and the valve ports l1 communicate with the atmosphere, no condl- 7 ister partly with tloned air from within the housing I will enter the heater but air will be taken into the heater from the atmosphere through the valve ports 11.

By moving the valve 63 until the ports 11 regthe inlet II and partly with the tmosphere, air may be taken, into the heater partly from the housing I andflpartly from the atmosphere.

By moving the valve 83 inwardly until the valve ports 11 are out of communication with the atmosphere and the inlet 5, and said inlet is closed by sa d valve, no air will be taken into the heater. from the housing i or from the atmosphere, and the same air will be circulated through the heater and the room andthe air will be heated and humidified each time it passes through the inner tube 54 of the heater.

In the form of our air conditioner shown in Fig. 10 a single large air inlet side wall I of the housing inlets correspond substantially to the areas of the adjacent sides of the filters ll respectively, whereby a maximum amount of air may be drawn from the atmosphere through the sides of said filters into said filters to be filtered. The inlets I! are covered with a iine mesh screen ll.

In the lower part of the housing I, above the reservoir 1, a horizontal wall .2 is secured to the front, rear and side walls of the housing, upon which wall may be placed articles, such as foods, containers of liquids and the like for keeping the same cool, thus utilizing the apparatus as a refrigerator.

We claim:

1. In an apparatus for cu ating. tube, sheathed heating air, an air-cirelectric heating tubes .rnc unted'in said tube with one end of said heating tubes secured to the lower side of the wall of said tube and the other end of said heating tubes seli is provided in each I, the area of which cured to the upper side of the wall of said tube, so

that said heating tubes are inclined 'in said tube,

means for forcing air through said tube over said heating tubes and means for directing said air spirally around said heating tubes as it is forced through said tube.

2. In an apparatus for heating air, an air-circulating tube, means for forcing air through said tube, sheathed electric heating tubes mounted in said tube for heating the air forced through said tube, a sump for containing water, and links suspended from said heating tubes into the water in said sump for vaporizing said water and humidifying the heated air forced through said circulating tube.

3. In an apparatus for heating air, an air-circulating tube, means for forcing air through said tube, sheathed electric heating tubes mounted in said tube for heating the air forced through said tube, a sump, means for supplying water to said sump, means for automatically maintaining the water at a predetermined level in said sump, and links suspended from said heating tubes into the water in said sump for vaporizing the water in said sump and humidifying the air forced through said circulating tube and heated by said heating tubes.

4. In an apparatus for heating air, an air-circulating tube, means for forcing air through said tube, sheathed electric heating tubes mounted in said tube for heating the air forced through said tube, a sump for containing water, links suspended from said heating tubes into the water in said sump for vaporizing said water and humidifying the heated air forced through said circulating tube, and means for directing said air spirally through said tube.

GEORGE ROGER SMITH. ALBERT K. GRAFTON. 

